SPRINGFIELD – More than 530 people plan to attend “1,000 Hoodies: A Walk for Trayvon Martin,” starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at Springfield City Hall, according to the event’s Facebook page.

“People have been very supportive,” said Natasha Z. Clark, owner of The Lioness Group public relations company and a founder of the Alliance of Black Professionals, the group hosting the event. “Surprisingly a lot of high school students want to know what they can do, which is really great.”

Students at area colleges, including Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, are also expressed interest.

“The interest is all across the spectrum. It’s exciting to see the city and the whole region come together like this,” she said.

The Martin case has touched raw nerves across the country on questions of race and how young black males are perceived in society.

The 17-year-old was shot and killed Feb. 26 in the Orlando suburb of Sanford, Fla., by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The shooter, George Zimmerman, told police he shot Martin when the teen fought with him. His supporters described Zimmerman getting his head slammed on the ground and his nose broken.

Thursday, video of Zimmerman taken that night surfaced showing him without any apparent injuries. However, a police report said Zimmerman he was found bleeding.

Clark said hearing the 911 tapes from the night of the shooting, including someone screaming for help during the incident, moved her to action.

“You begin to think about all those things: What if it was my child?” she said.

Speakers Saturday will include Mark Baymon, co-chairman for religious affairs with the Springfield Branch of the NAACP, and state Reps. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera and Benjamin Swan, both Springfield Democrats. Swan and Coakley-Rivera were among lawmakers who wore hoodies, hooded sweatshirts like the one Martin wore when he was killed, during a protest this week at the Statehouse in Boston. Following that, there will be a march north on Main Street to Worthington, East on Worthington to Dwight Street then back down Bridge Street to City Hall.